A Day on the Beach
by The Hornswoggler
Summary: Asuka wanders the Geofront after awakening on a beach with Shinji. One-shot.


The following Eva fanfiction is set directly after the events of End of Evangelion. I'm not a very good fiction writer, so any and all feedback/criticism is appreciated. I want nothing more than to improve, so thanks in advance to anyone who leaves a constructive review. Thank you. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

 _A Day on the Beach_

LCL washed onto the beach shore. It brushed between Asuka's toes, sending an uncomforting warmth through her person. Her boots lay discarded beside her, soaked and overflowing with red liquid.

She squatted down and gazed outwards to the sea. The head of a dead god gazed back with unflinching, lifeless eyes and a smile. The rest of its face had become submerged in LCL. Its pale, ghostly image made it stick out alarmingly against the black sky, the red sea.

Seeing it caused Asuka's heartbeat to accelerate as memories of the day's calamities flooded her mind. Sweat formed on her forehead. Her legs weakened. Recollections of her and Shinji's interaction from minutes before appeared as a barrage of afterimages in her retina.

She lifted her left hand to her bandaged eye, acknowledging its absence, and glowered as her attention shifted to her impaired right arm. She tried spreading her fingers, but a jolting pain shot through her arm. The nerves were disconnected, and tendons were severed. There was no telling whether it'd ever recover.

She sunk her nails into her knee, then glared back at the face. 'A doll till the very end,' Asuka thought. She had slapped Rei back in the elevator, but she hadn't flinched, nor had she shown any semblance of distinguished emotion. She looked happy now.

The sound of footsteps in the sand alerted Asuka to Shinji's presence. He stood to the right of her. She pretended not to notice and continued glaring at Rei's visage.

In the corner of her eye, a fuse box hung loosely from a distorted telephone pole. It gave the vague impression that it wanted to fall, however it stayed suspended in the air, picturesque and inanimate.

Besides the crashing of the waves, everything stood still. Remnants of the Eva series rested offshore, tall and erect. A streak of crimson loomed over the sky. Above it the moon shone bright onto the earth. Time itself was stagnant as the air was mucky and oppressive—no wind for miles.

Asuka stood upright, picked up her soggy boots, and walked away from the beach.

"Asuka," Shinji began, stepping towards her.

"Don't follow me," she demanded, and continued on her way, leaving Shinji alone on the beach.

* * *

Third Impact had left the Geofront in ruins. The pyramid which formerly housed Nerv headquarters was in shambles. Tanks and helicopters from her fight with the JSDF looked like flattened cars. Trees were reduced to splinters.

Clothes with no bodies in them lay scattered around the area, soaked in pools of LCL. Asuka recognized none of them. They were just faceless soldiers whose existences bore no weight to her own.

The land she was perusing was ripe with plants. Where one tree had fallen, hundreds of mushrooms, moss, and flowers grew in its place. The grass tickled beneath her feet. It was much cooler than the roughness of sand, a fact which brought Asuka some comfort.

She came to a clearing, whereupon she found an untouched lake relaxing in the glow of fireflies. No LCL seemed to have ever made its way into the water. It was so clear Asuka couldn't even see her reflection.

She dipped her hand in the water. Lukewarm, but it would suffice. She unzipped her plugsuit and let it drop to her feet, then stepped into the lake cautiously so not to get her bandaged arm wet. "Ahhhh~" It had been a while since Asuka had last bathed. She had almost forgotten how nice it felt to let her body soak in something other than that sticky skin-tight suit.

Being man made, the lake housed no aquatic life. It was merely a flaccid imitation of an actual habitat with fish. At most there were two lily pads and a towel, but those looked like half assed attempts on the part of the workers to simulate a real lake.

Asuka was thankful enough for the towel though. It was quite convenient…

… But why would someone leave a towel here of all places? Wouldn't it have been blown away during Third Impact?

It was then Asuka noticed a strange white blob floating in the middle of the lake. White. Could it be an Angel? 'Impossible,' Asuka thought, 'the angels were annihilated. There could be no more.'

The rocks in the lake were big. Not too big to carry, but just large enough to be painful should anyone use them as weapons.

Asuka determined this, picked up a rock with her left hand, and threw it at the target.

*Splash*

It missed. The blob submerged itself underwater in the blink of an eye. The water rippled outwards from where the rock landed. Asuka cursed. She wasn't naturally left-handed.

The blob was nowhere to be seen. Asuka stepped out of the lake for a better vantage point. She could barely make out movements from under the water. It didn't appear to be fast, or exceptionally large.

She picked up the towel. It was small. Fit for a child. She tossed it into the lake. Silence

The target maneuvered to the towel, then revealed itself as a familiar penguin with a big, white belly, orange crests, and a thick black coat and flippers. It wrapped the towel around its neck like a gymnast after a long workout, then calmly waddled out of the lake on little orange feet.

Asuka blinked. "Pen Pen?"

He shook himself violently, slinging water from his coat all over the place, then peered up at Asuka. He let out a low squawk, and waddled off into the forest. Asuka slipped into her plugsuit and followed closely behind.

* * *

Pen Pen and Asuka walked for ten minutes before coming to a cozy, secluded cave. Inside there was a sleeping bag, a fireplace, and a cooler stocked full of beer.

"Nice place ya got here," Asuka said. Pen Pen squawked bashfully. They each grabbed a cold one and chugged, chugged, chugged. Asuka had occasionally swiped beer from Misato's fridge back when they all lived in her apartment, but she had never understood the joys of drinking until tonight. She was drunk by the time she slammed her can onto the floor, squealing with delight at the taste.

As an experienced drinker, Pen Pen wasn't even buzzed yet. He calmly set his can down atop other empty cans. His goal was to build a scale replica of Tokyo-3 with his beer cans, just as a way of occupying his time.

They both reached into the cooler and retrieved more cold ones. "Down the hatch!" Asuka exclaimed, tapping her drinking against Pen Pen's.

*Gulp* *Gulp* *Gulp*

"Ahhhh~" Half of the beer remained in the can. "Ya know, for a pengin, yu shur know how ta live!" Asuka rambled, slurring her words and whirling her drink around as she talked. "I sat on a beech wit Shiiiinji for hours an' hours, an' ya know wha 'e did? All 'e did was cry and try ta have 'is way wit me!"

She took another large sip. "By tha way, sorry I throo a rock at ya." Pen Pen held up his fin. "It's just that I thot yu were an Angel, ya know? Jus' can't be too shur in this shithole." Pen Pen offered a sardine to Asuka. "No thanks~ I ain't hungry. Haven' had much of an appetite la'ely."

She took another large sip. "But man, that Shiiiiiiinji! All 'e ever does is whine an' complain! Wish 'e'd grow a pair, ya know? Godda make a man outta 'im!" Pen Pen slurped down four sardines. "Now tha's wha I'm talkin' about!"

She took another large sip. "Don' know if I can blame 'im tho. Kinda wan'ed ta strangle 'im too. 'E's jus' so damn hatable, ya know? So scrawney! So booooorin'! Guy jus' doesn' know how ta liven up, ya know? 'E needs ta think for 'imself for once. Be less ova stick in tha mud. Maybe then people'd like 'im! All 'e does is follow others instruc'ions without considerin' himself first! What a fuckin' idiot! Can't make decizions on 'ish own! Jus' awai's orders like a stupid doll! Wouldn' kill a fly unless 'e were told! Wouldn' even follow me!" Asuka began to cry.

She took another large sip. The can was dry. She tossed it into Pen Pen's tower, knocking over several meticulously stacked cans, and reached for another cold one. Pen Pen stopped her hand with her fin and shook his head.

"What!?" Asuka yelled. "Don' think I can hold my own!?" Pen Pen shook his head. A vein became visible on Asuka's temple. "Well screw yu! Gimme a beer!" She forced her hand into the cooler and retrieved a beer. "Down the hatch!"

She chugged it all in one go.

*Burp*

"Se-see? Ain' no proble-*HICK*oblem!" Asuka's head was spinning. She felt a queasiness in her stomach. "God ta pee."

She shot out of the cave before Pen Pen could do anything. She ran until she hit the lake, then proceeded to vomit uncontrollably into the water. Perspiration dripped down her cheeks, mixing with her tears. Asuka held her stomach, throat burning, feeling sick, remembering an agony she desperately wanted to forget.

After several minutes passed, she stood and walked aimlessly towards the decimated pyramid. There she observed the aftermath of the day's carnage. Everything was either deformed or distorted. Nothing was as it should be.

She peered into the water of Nerv's reservoir. Her reflection looked back at her with a tired eye-a ragged creature with rage visible in the iris.

"-"

Asuka jumped. A strange voice sent a shiver down her spine. The area was vacant of life, except her own. No wind either.

*Splash*

A blue-haired apparition hovered above the reservoir.

Asuka recoiled, then tripped. Fell hard on her back. Without thinking, she crawled backwards. Hit a wall.

Rei was gone.

Asuka panted and panted and panted, her heart nearly being regurgitated. Shaking, she climbed back to her feet, eye still locked on the reservoir, weight balanced against the wall.

She turned see the wall.

She saw Unit 02's remains.

* * *

Shinji sat in front of Misato's "grave." It gave him more comfort than looking at Rei. Seeing Misato's necklace made him feel less alone.

A gust of wind swept through the beach. Then there was Asuka, trudging over the sand, bandages sliding off her arm.

Shinji sat up to welcome her, but instead was greet with her fist in his cheek. He collapsed onto the ground. Asuka lurched on top of him, straddling his legs, digging her kneecaps into his thighs. Both hands clasped his shirt collar, shaking him violently, wailing indistinguishable curses. Blood from her right arm and tears from her eye dripped onto him. He attempted to caress her cheek. She sunk her teeth into his hand. He screamed. The fuse box fell into the sea. He kicked her off his person, then clung to Misato. Asuka fled back into the woods, blood trailing behind her.

Shinji inspected his wound. The indention of Asuka's teeth littered his palm. Small specs of red liquid oozed from the skin.

"Misato-san, what do I do?"

* * *

Asuka trembled under the base of a leafless tree. Her arm seethed with a stinging sensation. A few hideous stitches had come undone. She hid her face in her knees and cried. Someone offered her a tissue.

"Thank you," she said, wiping her eyes. Pen Pen stood in front of her, cooler in flipper, patting her knee gingerly. She took the offered tissue, then shook Pen Pen's flipper. "Thank you."

The sound of footsteps alerted her to Shinji's presence. He shouted Asuka's name, worry showing in his voice.

He came to a screeching halt when he spotted her and Pen Pen. He huffed and huffed, exhausted. He smiled at her. She dried her tears. Pen Pen squawked.

The three collected themselves, then returned to the beach. They sat side by side, enjoying the breeze against the warm sand. Pen Pen offered Asuka a beer, but she declined. Shinji took one though, drinking it with caution.

"How's it taste, Shin-chan?"

He slurped on the can. "Tastes terrible," he laughed. Asuka took the can from him and sipped on it, then passed it back to him. He took another sip, but spat it out. Asuka and Pen Pen laughed. Shinji joined in, chuckling as he looked up at the red stricken night sky. The moon was as full and bright as it had been when he woke up next to Asuka. The stars were numerous little fireflies, making the sky look better than if it were purely black.

Pen Pen prayed to Misato. Asuka did the same before etching her name into the stump.

"Major Katsuragi," it read.

They all stood together on the beach, feet washing in the LCL, as Shinji hummed "Ode to Joy." The statues of the Eva series stood tall and erect with their arms stretched wide. In the distance, one of Rei's hands poked out of the earth.

'Looks as if it's reaching for heaven,' Asuka thought, stretching her arm out towards it. She removed the rest of her bandages and let them fall into the LCL. Her disfigured arm felt cold against the wind, bringing her comfort. She grinned, then splashed at Shinji with her good hand.

"Hey!" he yelled, a smirk on his face betraying him. He splashed back, engaging Asuka in a childish game while Pen Pen floated on his back, refreshing himself to the sounds of kids enjoying their time alive.

Lying in the sea, the face of a former Eva pilot smiled at them. They were waiting to see the rest of Rei's head sink beneath the surface of the LCL as a way of bidding her farewell, unaware her head would never sink all the way.


End file.
